Friday, July 14

MiniArt continue to pack a whallop with the new releases of this Panzerfaust 30/60 Set in 35th scale

MiniArt give us more details to flesh out our dioramas – This time the dual release of the Panzerfaust Faustpatrone 30 and Panzerfaust 60 with crates to ship them in – we look at the weapon, the sprues and the bits that come with them in a photo spread to show what to expect in this release. Check it out in our preview...

The Panzerfaust ("armor fist" or "tank fist", plural: Panzerfäuste) is an inexpensive, single shot, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consists of a small, disposable pre-loaded launch tube firing a high-explosive anti-tank warhead, and was intended to be operated by a single soldier.

The two weapons in this set from MiniArt are the Panzerfaust 30 & Panzerfaust 60

The Panzerfaust's direct ancestor was the similar, smaller-warhead Faustpatrone ordnance device. The Panzerfaust was in use from 1943 until the end of the war.The weapon's concepts played an important part in the development of the later Russian RPG weapon systems such as the RPG-2. Most notably, the RPG-7 added a sustainer rocket motor to the grenade.

Panzerfaust 30 Klein ("small") or Faustpatrone (not included in this set)

this was the original version, first delivered in August 1943 with a total weight of 3.2 kilogrammes (7.1 lb) and overall length of 98.5 cm (38.8 in). The "30" was indicative of the nominal maximum range of 30 m (33 yd). It had a 3.3 cm (1.3 in) diameter tube containing 54 grammes (1.9 oz) of black powder propellant launching a 10 cm (3.9 in) warhead carrying 400 g (14 oz) of explosive. The projectile travelled at just 30 m (98 ft) per second and could penetrate 140 mm (5.5 in) of armour. One of these weapons is shown here below (top)

Panzerfaust 30

an improved version also appearing in August 1943. This version had a larger warhead for improved armour penetration, 200 mm (7.9 in), but the same range of 30 meters.

Panzerfaust 60

this was the most common version and was completed in early 1944. However, it did not reach full production until September 1944, when 400,000 were to be produced each month.[14] It had a much more practical range of 60 m (66 yd), although with a muzzle velocity of only 45 m (148 ft) per second it would take 1.3 seconds for the warhead to reach a tank at that range. To achieve the higher velocity, the tube diameter was increased to 5 cm (2.0 in) and 134 g (4.7 oz) of propellant used. It also had an improved flip-up rear sight and trigger mechanism. The weapon now weighed 6.1 kg (13 lb). It could defeat 200 mm (7.9 in) of armour.

Sprue contents of the box from MiniArt - there will be several of these sprues to make this set up with boxes and 30/60 Panzerfausts here you can see. Also below a small picture ( sorry) of the Photo Etch sheet which provides the smaller details on the kit.

Instructions, decals & painting guide - again in tiny pictures soz...

Photos Of these devastating weapons in plastic -

- And then all painted and weathered up to show them "in action" in your diorama.